Matthew Lyddall Bacon1,2,3

Family Chart
ID# 1861, (1834 - 1898)
FatherCharles Asbury Bacon4,5,6 (15 Feb 1807 - Jan 1886)
MotherSusannah Rowlett7,5,6 (15 Feb 1808 - 11 Oct 1841)

Key Events:

Birth: 24 Jan 1834, Christian Co., Kentucky8,9,10
Marriage: 5 Oct 1865, Shelby Co., Tennessee, Martha Washington Tuck (20 Dec 1845 - 4 May 1928)11,12,13
Death: 5 Sep 1898, Hopkinsville, Christian Co., Kentucky14,8,15
Burial: 7 Sep 1898, Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee16,2
ChartsDescendants of Dr. Davis Green Tuck
Descendants of David Dutt/Toot

Copyright Notice

Narrative:

     Matthew Lyddall Bacon was born on 24 Jan 1834 in Christian Co., Kentucky.8,9,10
     He moved to Garrettsburg with his parents, about 1836.5 He moved to Beverly with his parents in 1838.5 He moved to Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky, with his parents in the fall of 1839.5
Matthew Lyddall Bacon
courtesy Susan D. Jones

     He was probably one of the two males age 5 to10 listed in the household of his father, Charles Asbury Bacon, in the 1840 Federal Census of Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky.17
     His mother died on 11 Oct 1841, when Matthew was 7 years old.18,19
     He moved in 1842 to Garrettsburg, Kentucky, with his father.5 He moved to Roaring Spring, Trigg Co., with his father and stepmother in 1846.5 He appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Trigg Co., Kentucky, in the household of his father, Charles Asbury Bacon, and Margaret Gaines Gibson, his stepmother.20,21
     Matthew appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Hopkinsville, Christian Co., Kentucky, enumerated 3 Aug 1860, reporting personal estate of $2,500. He was listed in the household of H. E. Bacon, his father's brother Hillary, and his wife. Also in the household was George L. Bacon, age 22 and born in Virginia, likely cousin, and James A Pendleton, age 57, a tailor.22

Drawn to Memphis by Martha's Sister --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     Matthew and Martha had been engaged to marry before she had accompanied her sister to Memphis. They had not expected to marry until she became of age, but Sarah was anxious to have someone to manage her business affairs, and urged them to marry and live with her. He was then in business in Evansville, Indiana, and was not anxious to move to Memphis, and neither of them "desired to live south." Nevertheless, after Martha had been living in Memphis from Jan to Oct 1865, in what she later described as "a life of much sacrifice and loneliness, as we were cut off from both the city and neighbors by military lines established near the gate," they did marry and agreed to live with Sarah.23
     Matthew married Martha Washington Tuck, daughter of Dr. Davis Green Tuck and Elizabeth M. Toot, on 5 Oct 1865 in Shelby Co., Tennessee, at the home of her eldest sister Sarah, with Rev. I. O. Steadman officiating.11,12,13
     On 12 Aug 1874 Matthew and Martha sold her interest in her father's estate, consisting of her one-sixth share in his 1,000-acre farm, to Permelia S. Walton, for $2,100.24
     Matthew and Martha appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee, in the household of her sister Sarah.25 Matthew and Martha, and their daughter Elizabeth, appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Shelby Co., Tennessee, in the household of Sarah.26 It appears that Matthew and Martha built their own home next door to Sarah on the property that Martha had obtained from her about 1882.27

An Able Business Man --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     Matthew reported his occupation as a merchant in the 1860 census in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. No details about his business there, or his reported business in Evansville have been found.28,29 The earliest record found of his occupation in Memphis is in 1869, when he was a bookkeeper for Russell, Grove & Co., operators of the Gayoso planning mill and lumber yard at 212 Adams. The following year he was listed as a clerk a the Post Office, though his occupation listed in the 1870 census was bookkeeper.30,31
     No further record of his occupation has been found until 1878, when he joined W. B. Waldran and F. W. Royster in a real estate brokers under the name of Royster, Waldran & Bacon.32,33 A newspaper advertisement that year described the firm's business as:
Memphis & Mississippi Valley
Land Agency
and General
Real Estate Office
No. 280 Main Street
     For the sale, purchase, lease or exchange of Cotton Farms, Unimproved Cotton Lands, Sugar Plantations and Sugar Lands, Tobacco, Grain, Grass and Timber Lands, in the States of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Alabama.
     Land business, in all its branches, promptly attended to. Memphis city and suburban property will be made a specialty. Shelby county and West Tennessee lands, embracing those adapted to planting, grain and grass-growing, grazing and fruit-growing, will receive special attention.34

     Matthew left that firm about 1880 and established his own real estate and rental agency, at 5 Madison, Memphis. He continued that business at the same address until his death.35,32,36
     On 6 Apr 1870 Matthew purchased a store house on Front St., or Mississippi Row, in Memphis, from the estate of his brother-in-law, Quintus C. Atkinson, for $20,000.37 Matthew was described in an 1887 book as
...the trusted proxy of land and property owners; his bulletin boards, etc., are the best evidence of the amount of business he is continually transacting. Mr. Bacon buys, sells, rents and take charge of real estate, and that he does it in a very credible manner need not be said, that being a foregone conclusion; and, by permission, he refers to the Bank of Commerce, Union and Planters' Bank, German Bank, Manhattan Savings Bank and Trust Company, (all institutions of the soundest financial standing) and the business men of Memphis, in general. This is a sufficient guarantee of the fair, honorable and equitable dealing and liberal business policy which governs the transactions of this wide-awake exponent of the real estate profession...38

     On 13 May 1883 Matthew bought the six remaining small lots behind the home of his late sister-in-law, Sarah Elizabeth Tuck, from her executors and the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to whom she had bequeathed them. He transferred all but one of them 10 Jun 1885 to the purchaser of the lot with Sarah's main house.39
Martha and Matthew Bacon inscriptions on Bacon family monument
courtesy Elmwood Cemetery

The Will of a Thoughtful Man --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     Matthew left a will dated 19 Oct 1893 stating he was of Shelby Co., Tennessee, in which he stated he was to be buried "in the simplest way possible in an ordinary wooden coffin," and as far as may be agreeable to his wife and daughter, in private. Any religious services were left to the discretion of his wife and daughter. He left his entire estate equally to his wife and daughter after payment of debts, which he said consisted only of monthly balances and monthly grocery and store bills of his wife's making. His wife was to have full authority to manage the estate as she pleased, and was to support their daughter until she married. At which time they could hold their interests jointly or divide them as equally as possible. He acknowledged that their home on Poplar St. was owned by his wife and was not part of his estate. He appointed his wife as executrix, to serve without security or need for any accounting other than to the daughter.40
     Matthew died on 5 Sep 1898 in Hopkinsville, Christian Co., Kentucky, at age 64.14,8,15 He was buried on 7 Sep 1898 in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee, with his wife in their lot in the Miller Circle section.16,2
     His will was proved on 15 Sep 1898 in Shelby Co., Tennessee, Probate Court. Letters Testamentary were issued to his widow as executrix, without bond as specified in the will.41
     The final settlement of the estate was filed on 9 May 1901. His executrix stated that she had provided the required notice to creditors and settled all claims, and that no accounting was required as specified in the will. She stated that she and her daughter had agreed to hold their interests in the estate jointly, and asked to be discharged as executrix. Her daughter and her husband stated their agreement with the statement. The court accepted the statement and discharged her.42
     On 7 Dec 1909 Martha filed a petition for letters of administration to re-open Matthew's estate in order to collect a $2,000 life insurance policy on Sitwell Harris, who had recently died. She was granted letters as executrix de bonis non (for goods not administrated). She apparently failed to file a settlement in this new case, as a summons for her to do so was issued 24 Feb 1914. The sheriff reported 19 May that she could not be found.43

Children:
     Child with Martha Washington Tuck:

Citations

  1. [S8925] Esarey, A History of Indiana from Its Exploration to 1922, pg 492, shows name as Mathew Lyddall Bacon.
  2. [S1284] Matthew Lyddall & Martha W. Bacon family monument, Elmwood Cemetery.
  3. [S393] Sarah E. Atkinson household, 1880 U.S. Census, Shelby Co., Tennessee, shows name as Mathew L. Bacon.
  4. [S2112] Chas. A. Bacon household, 1850 U.S. Census, Trigg Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as parent and child.
  5. [S2665] Perrin, Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky, part II, pg 231.
  6. [S8925] Esarey, A History of Indiana from Its Exploration to 1922, pg 492.
  7. [S2113] Thomas Langston Bacon, Certificate of Death, shows her as his mother. Since he and Matthew are close in age, and both too old for their father's second wife to be their mother, it seems likely Susan was the mother of both of them.
  8. [S1284] Matthew Lyddall & Martha W. Bacon family monument, Elmwood Cemetery, shows date.
  9. [S2112] Chas. A. Bacon household, 1850 U.S. Census, Trigg Co., Kentucky, shows age 16 and state.
  10. [S2116] H. E. Bacon household, 1860 U.S. Census, Christian Co., Kentucky, shows age 23 and state.
  11. [S1216] M. L. Bacon and Mattie W. Tuck, marriage license, shows date and minister.
  12. [S2111] McNeil et al v. Mills and Young, transcript of proceedings of Circuit Court of Shelby Co., 12 Aug 1885, pg 159, deposition of Mrs. M. W. Bacon, shows date and at Sarah's house.
  13. [S1227] Deed Books, Shelby Co., Tennessee, , bk 139 pp 191-2 Sarah E. Atkinson to Martha Washington Bacon (1 Nov 1881); bk 141 pp 244-6 Sarah E. Atkinson to Martha W. Bacon (13 Mar 1882); and bk 143 pp 518-9 Sarah E. Atkinson to Martha Washington Bacon (30 Aug 1882), all show Martha as the wife of M. L. Bacon.
  14. [S1219] Tom Leatherwood Shelby County Register of Deeds, online, death record for Matthew L Bacon, viewed Jun 2007, shows date, age 60 and note "died in Hopkinsville, KY."
  15. [S8925] Esarey, A History of Indiana from Its Exploration to 1922, pg 492, shows month and year, as 1897, and city, as Memphis.
  16. [S4112] Elmwood Cemetery, burial records, 1898 pg 14, shows date, lot 41, grave 1.
  17. [S8929] Charles A. Bacon household, 1840 U.S. Census, Christian Co., Kentucky.
  18. [S2665] Perrin, Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky, part II, pg 231, shows date.
  19. [S8925] Esarey, A History of Indiana from Its Exploration to 1922, pg 492, shows she died in 1940.
  20. [S2112] Chas. A. Bacon household, 1850 U.S. Census, Trigg Co., Kentucky.
  21. [S8927] Chas. A. Bacon, owner, 1850 U.S. Census, Trigg Co., Kentucky, slave schedule.
  22. [S2116] H. E. Bacon household, 1860 U.S. Census, Christian Co., Kentucky.
  23. [S2111] McNeil et al v. Mills and Young, transcript of proceedings of Circuit Court of Shelby Co., 12 Aug 1885, pg 157-9, deposition of Mrs. M. W. Bacon.
  24. [S7768] Deeds, Christian Co., Kentucky, 52:216-8, M. L. Bacaon & wife Martha W of Shelby Co., Tennessee, to Mrs. Permelia Farror, 1 Mar 1874.
  25. [S605] Sarah Atkinson household, 1870 U.S. Census, Shelby Co., Tennessee.
  26. [S393] Sarah E. Atkinson household, 1880 U.S. Census, Shelby Co., Tennessee.
  27. [S4125] Sholes' City Directory of the City of Memphis, 1881 pg 154 and 1882 pg 176 both show residence as "n s Poplar, e of Rope Walk"; 1883 pg 159, 1884 pg 159 and 1885 pg 210 all show residence as "n s Poplar, 2d e of Rope Walk."
  28. [S2116] H. E. Bacon household, 1860 U.S. Census, Christian Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as merchant.
  29. [S8925] Esarey, A History of Indiana from Its Exploration to 1922, pg 492, shows he was first a merchant in Memphis.
  30. [S4132] Edwards' Annual Director, City of Memphis, 1869 pp 38, 188; 1870 pg 42.
  31. [S605] Sarah Atkinson household, 1870 U.S. Census, Shelby Co., Tennessee, shows occupation as bookkeeper.
  32. [S393] Sarah E. Atkinson household, 1880 U.S. Census, Shelby Co., Tennessee, shows occupation as rental agent.
  33. [S4125] Sholes' City Directory of the City of Memphis, 1877 pp 117, 406; 1878 pg 113; and 1879 pg 113.
  34. [S4135] Advertisement, The Memphis Daily Appeal, 8 Mar 1876.
  35. [S4125] Sholes' City Directory of the City of Memphis, 1880 pg 113; 1881 pp 61, 154.
  36. [S4122] R. L. Polk & Co.'s Memphis Directory, 1899 pg 111.
  37. [S1227] Deed Books, Shelby Co., Tennessee, , bk 74 pp 573-4 Edgar McDavitt, R. W. Clements, and Sarah E. Atkinson, executors for Q. C. Atkinson, deceased, to M. L. Bacon (27 Apr 1870).
  38. [S1349] Memphis as she is, pp 67-68.
  39. [S1227] Deed Books, Shelby Co., Tennessee, , bk 147 pp 121-? J. C. Mills and R. A. Young, executors for Mrs. Sarah E. Atkinson, deceased, and Bishops Hailand M. McTyire et al, to Lissie A. Hunt, dated 28 Apr 1883 (only first page found); bk 160 pp 603-6 A. P. Tuck and wife Emma W. Tuck, R. W. Tuck and wife Eliza J. Tuck, and R. L. Cobb and wife Jennie A. Cobb to Lucy Townsend Williams (16 Jun 1885); and bk 162 pp 45-8 M. L. Bacon and wife Martha W. Bacon, Thomas H. Elliott and wife Bettie M. Elliott, D. G. Tuck, Flora Caruthers, Malcom M. McNeill, Thomas M. McNeill, Benjamin F. McNeill, Rivers McNeill, Frank McNeill and M. E. Crudup to Lucy Townsend Williams (16 Jun 1885), the latter two reciting sale recorded in bk 147 pg 121 and also sale by same parties of lots 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 to the rear of the main homesite to M. L. Bacon dated 22 May 1883 recorded at bk 151 pg 60 (not found), and that some heirs-at-law were contesting the will but all consent to the sale to Williams; also bk 160 pp 610-7 Lizzie A. Hunt and husband Clarence P. Hunt to Lucy Townson Williams (12 Jun 1885) which recites the same facts adding that disposition of the proceeds of the sale to Hunt pending disposition of the court challenge, and that M. L. Bacon and wife Mrs. Bacon had transferred title of lots 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 to Hunt by deed dated 10 Jun 1885 (no record found).
  40. [S7973] Loose Probate Papers, Shelby Co., Tennessee, 1898, no. 9324, M. L. Bacon, will.
  41. [S8936] Minute Books, Shelby Co., Tennessee, 70:391-2, will of M. L. Bacon.
  42. [S7973] Loose Probate Papers, Shelby Co., Tennessee, 1898, no. 9324, M. L. Bacon, final statement, 9 May 1901; Order Confriming Settlement, same date.
  43. [S7973] Loose Probate Papers, Shelby Co., Tennessee, 1898, no. 9324, M. L. Bacon, petition, 7 Dec 1909; summons, 24 Feb 1914.
  44. [S393] Sarah E. Atkinson household, 1880 U.S. Census, Shelby Co., Tennessee, shows Lizzie as niece of Sarah.
  45. [S2061] Macon, John and Edward Tuck of Halifax County, pg 30.